Nuveen LLC Buys New Position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in ONEOK, Inc., purchasing approximately 4.44 million shares valued at about $440.5 million, representing a 0.71% ownership interest in the company.
• ONEOK reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.34, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $8.21 billion for the quarter and a projected EPS of 5.07 for the current fiscal year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03, yielding 5.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 80.31%, and the payment is scheduled for August 14th.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,439,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $440,535,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.71% of ONEOK at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in ONEOK by 11.4% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ONEOK by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 289,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,774,000 after purchasing an additional 10,957 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in ONEOK by 146.9% during the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 18,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 10,728 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in ONEOK by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 340,480 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,184,000 after purchasing an additional 19,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in ONEOK in the first quarter valued at approximately $511,000. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank set a $92.00 price objective on shares of ONEOK and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on ONEOK from $102.00 to $93.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on ONEOK from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.57.

ONEOK Stock Performance

Shares of OKE stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $74.80. 3,087,857 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,976,282. The firm's 50-day moving average is $80.48 and its 200 day moving average is $87.01. The company has a market capitalization of $47.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.99. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.02 and a 1 year high of $118.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. ONEOK had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 11.06%. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 EPS for the current year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio is 80.31%.

ONEOK Profile

ONEOK, Inc engages in gathering, processing, fractionation, storage, transportation, and marketing of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. It operates through four segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas Pipelines, and Refined Products and Crude.